December 26, 2013

For some filmmakers it wasn't a good year. What were supposed to be incredible blockbusters turned into epic movie failures. The Hollywood Reporter created a list but here are five from that list.

Better luck next year!

'Jack the Giant Slayer'

Bryan Singer's Jack the Giant Slayer failed to kill at the box office, debuting to $27.2 million domestically in March. Starring Nicholas Hoult, the fantasy pic's dismal opening drew comparisons to 2012's Battleship and John Carter. The blow was especially hard because of the film's big costs -- all told, the price tag was nearly $300 million when accounting for the film's $190 million production budget and hefty marketing spend. It earned $197.7 million worldwide.

'After Earth'

Will Smith and his real-life son Jaden starred as a father and son in Sony’s sci-fi film, which was a box office flop when it opened in the U.S. in the No. 3 spot in May (behind holdover Fast & Furious 6 and newcomer Now You See Me). With an estimated budget of $130 million, After Earth earned $27.5 million in its debut, and a 11 percent Rotten Tomatoes score. It went on to earn just $243.8 million worldwide.

'White House Down'

Two movies about the White House being under siege turned out to be one too many. Sony's White House Down -- starring Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx -- opened just three months after FilmDistrict's Olympus Has Fallen to a dismal $24.9 million. Roland Emmerich's White House Down cost a pricey $150 million to produce and went on to make just $205.4 million worldwide.

'The Lone Ranger'

Disney's The Lone Ranger, starring Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer, was a big-budget production, costing $250 million to make. But it was a train-wreck when it hit theaters in July, opening domestically to a disappointing $29.2 million. When the dust fully settled, the film had earned a sad $260.5 million worldwide. Just two months after the film flopped in theaters, producer Jerry Bruckheimer parted ways with Disney after a longtime partnership, but Bruckheimer didn’t blame the film. “We have a full body of work with them. It's not about Lone Ranger. It's more about the types of movies Disney is making, and the types of movies we want to make

'Paranoia'

This high concept corporate thriller thudded with critics prior to its mid-August release date. A cast featuring Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Liam Hemsworth and Amber Heard wasn't able to convince late Summer moviegoers to pay for a ticket -- the film failed to crack the top ten at the U.S. box office in its debut, ultimately grossing less than $15 million worldwide.

December 21, 2013

The world of entertainment has some memorable moments captured on film. Who can forget Miley Cyrus or Jennifer Lawrence as she tripped at the Oscars. Business Insider recently ran the best photographs from the world of entertainment.

You can see all of them here but here are my favorites. (Click on photographs to make them larger)

December 18, 2013

Netflix continues to prove it is a major provider for original content with the release of "Mitt' in January. The documentary gives us an unpremeditated look at this private man. After seeing the trailer, I look forward to watching it.

Netflix describes this film:

A Netflix original documentary, Mitt is a rare and intimate account of one man's quest for the presidency.

Given unprecedented access by Mitt Romney and his family for six years, Mitt follows the former governor's presidential aspirations, from Christmas 2006 to his initial run to become the Republican nominee in 2008 and through his Presidential concession speech in 2012.

Director Greg Whiteley ("New York Doll," "Resolved") travels alongside the campaign through interactions with potential voters, preparations for the debates, personal moments with his family and concluding with final presidential election night results.

December 11, 2013

Renowned documentary filmmaker Cal Skaggs has been working with Ali Forney Center (NYC) to make a film about homeless LGBT youth in America. Skaggs is directing this film. The director previously made With God on Our Side for PBS about the rise of the religious right.

The new film is Road to Hometo be released in 2014. Shockingly, over 40% of all the homeless young people in America are LGBT youth! The website for the documentary describes it:

In the avalanche of homeless young people spreading across America, nearly half are LGBT, despite the fact that gay kids make up only 5-7% of the general population. In an era of increasing openness regarding LGBT issues, where marriage equality is making strides and anti-gay bullying is publicly shamed, kids are coming out to their parents younger and younger. But social trends don’t translate into all households equally, and LGBT kids are often getting kicked out into the streets long before they’ve developed the skills to survive on their own.

Addressing this problem involves more than providing beds. It also involves providing hope and healing. Our 90-minute documentary Road to Home will follow the development of 4-5 LGBT homeless young people of various genders, backgrounds, and origins as they’re provided beds as well as guidance by the staff of the Ali Forney Center, the organization dealing with LGBT homelessness most effectively in New York City. By showing several young people finding a place to lay their heads and a way to heal their hearts, our film will not only depict a dramatic emotional journey, but also stimulate the attention LGBT homeless kids deserve.

November 26, 2013

AskMen.compicked ten films where the casting of an actor absolutely made the film unbearable to watch. Do you have a movie where you felt the same way? For me, it was casting of William Shatner in "White Comanche" (above) released in 1968.

We don't remember much of what we learned in our high school history classes, but we're reasonably certain that Alexander the Great was Greek. So, you can imagine our surprise when Oliver Stone cast Colin Farrell in the central role of his 2004 biopic. The Dublin native did nothing to disguise his Irish brogue and played Alexander as if he were a lifelong Liffeysiders fan who feasted on shamrocks and gargled with Guinness. To make matters worse, Farrell's refusal to dump his accent forced supporting actors Val Kilmer and Jared Leto to adopt Irish accents of their own to cover any anomaly. The result was a sonic mess that made the film feel far more like fantasy than the glorious history it promised to convey

2. Che! (Jack Palance)

When you think of Jack Palance (if you think of Jack Palance), you tend to think of his roles in City Slickers and Sudden Fear, and that's a good thing, because the last thing in the world this Oscar-winner would want to be remembered for is his performance as Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro in Che! The only thing remotely Cuban about Palance's portrayal were the cigars he smoked on screen, and even those tended to evoke memories of Groucho Marx rather than of history's most charismatic Marxist. Yes, Castro may have struggled against his country's corrupt Batista regime, but it's nothing compared to how audiences struggled to stay awake during this colossal waste of celluloid.

3. Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves (Kevin Costner)

Hollywood has yet to open a Horrible Accent Hall of Fame, but if it does, Kevin Costner will most certainly be in its inaugural class. This Oscar-winning actor has numerous strikes against him when it comes to trying to trying to adopt new dialects, but none are as blatant as his laughable attempt at an English “accent” in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Costner's lilt was so unconvincing that Empire magazine called his performance "just giving up."

4. Genghis Khan (John Wayne)

Hollywood producer Howard Hughes did some amazing things during his lifetime, but casting John Wayne as Genghis Khan wasn't among them. The boozy Iowa native was ill-equipped to play history's lustiest and most blood-thirsty Mongol and the film was universally panned by critics and moviegoers alike. Hughes was so embarrassed by the final product that he purchased every print of the movie for $12 million and kept it locked away in his personal vault for the next 18 years

5. Ghost Rider (Nicholas Cage)

You'd be hard pressed to find a bigger comic book nerd than Nicolas Cage. After all, the Oscar-winning actor named his son Kal-El and changed his own last name from Coppola to Cage to honour his boyhood hero, Luke Cage. However, just because he reveres superheroes doesn't mean he should play one the big screen. That was first apparent in 2007 in Ghost Rider and again in 2011 in its totally uncalled-for sequel, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. The movies may have been a dream come true for Cage, but they were a nightmare for anyone who had to sit through them.